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The Pyramid Companies
The Pyramid Companies (also known as Pyramid Management Group) were formed in 1970 in Syracuse, New York, by Robert J. Congel. The first three malls the company built were the Pyramid Mall Johnstown in Johnstown, New York,1 Pyramid Mall Fulton in Fulton, New York,2 and Pyramid Mall Oneonta in Oneonta, New York.3 All three malls opened in 1972. Each mall featured a White-Modell's department store and Loblaws supermarket as anchors. These malls were much smaller, community-type centers compared to the company's current malls. The next three malls built by Pyramid, regarded as the company's "pioneer malls", were Pyramid Mall Ithaca (later The Shops at Ithaca Mall) in Lansing, New York, Pyramid Mall Plattsburgh (later Champlain Centre South) in Plattsburgh, New York, and Pyramid Mall Saratoga (later Saratoga Mall) in Saratoga Springs, New York. All three malls opened in 1975 and marked the beginning of an advance in shopping center construction and ownership. Of these three malls, the Plattsburgh and Saratoga properties were demolished for strip centers, but the Ithaca property still continues to operate as an enclosed mall. Currently, Pyramid is the largest privately owned developer of shopping malls in the country. The company currently owns 17 properties in total, with 13 in New York, three in Massachusetts and one in Virginia.4 Pyramid developed and currently manages four out of the 20 most visited shopping malls in America - Destiny USA in Syracuse, New York (which is prominently featured on the company's website5), Palisades Center in West Nyack, New York, Walden Galleria in Buffalo, New York, and Crossgates Mall in Albany, New York. List of properties Current properties Malls New York * Aviation Mall - Glens Falls, New York (Opened 1975) * Champlain Centre - Plattsburgh, New York (Opened 1987) * Crossgates Mall - Albany, New York (Opened 1984) * Destiny USA (formerly Carousel Center) - Syracuse, New York (Opened 1990) * Galleria at Crystal Run - Middletown, New York (Opened 1992) * Palisades Center - West Nyack, New York (Opened 1998) * Poughkeepsie Galleria - Poughkeepsie, New York (Opened 1987) * Salmon Run Mall - Watertown, New York (Opened 1986) * Sangertown Square - New Hartford, New York (Opened 1980) * The Shops at Ithaca Mall (formerly Pyramid Mall Ithaca) - Lansing, New York (Opened 1976) * Walden Galleria - Buffalo, New York (Opened 1989) Massachusetts * Hampshire Mall - Hadley, Massachusetts (Opened 1978) * Holyoke Mall at Ingleside - Holyoke, Massachusetts (Opened 1979) * Kingston Collection (formerly Independence Mall) - Kingston, Massachusetts (Opened 1989) Virginia * Manassas Mall - Manassas, Virginia (Opened 1972) Power Centers New York * Crossgates Commons - Albany, New York - Opened 1994 - Across the street from Crossgates Mall. * Shops at West Seneca (old Seneca Mall - West Seneca, New York - Opened 1998 - On the site of former Seneca Mall. Past properties The following is a list of malls and power centers that were either closed by Pyramid, or sold to another company. New York * Pyramid Mall Plattsburgh - Plattsburgh, New York (Opened 1975, later named Champlain Centre South. Closed 1999. Demolished 1999 and revamped into a big box center with Lowe's, Price Chopper, and retaining the original Kmart store. Sold to Champlain Center South Associates in 2001) * Pyramid Mall Saratoga - Saratoga Springs, New York (Opened 1975, later named Saratoga Mall after being sold. Closed in 1997 and demolished in 1999) * Finger Lakes Mall - Auburn, New York (Opened 1980, Sold to Jager Management in 1999) * Hudson Valley Mall - Kingston, New York (Opened 1981, sold to CBL & Associates Properties. Mall is now owned by Hull Property Group) * Riverside Mall - Utica, New York (Opened 1974, converted to a strip mall in 1998, sold to Nightingale Properties in 2011) * Pyramid Mall Geneva - Geneva, New York (Redeveloped by Centro Properties Group) * Pyramid Mall Johnstown - Johnstown, New York (Opened 1972) * Pyramid Mall Fulton - Fulton, New York (Opened 1972 - sold and converted into a strip mall) * Pyramid Mall Oneonta - Oneonta, New York (Opened 1972 - sold to Bettiol Enterprises in 1994, converted to an outpatient center for A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in 1997) Massachusetts * Berkshire Mall - Lanesborough, Massachusetts (Opened 1988, Sold in 2014 to CBL & Associates Properties) * Emerald Square - North Attleborough, Massachusetts (Opened 1989 in conjunction with New England Development, later sold interest in 1998. Now owned by Simon Property Group) * Silver City Galleria - Taunton, Massachusetts (Opened 1992, sold to GGP) Controversy Black Friday In November 2014, the Pyramid-owned Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY was involved in a national controversy regarding their Black Friday policy. Mall management told their tenants that they must open at 6:00pm on Thanksgiving Day, or be fined $200 for every hour, up to a maximum of $1200.6 This was because all mall stores were expecting to open at midnight. A local radio station reported that a mandatory notice was posted around the mall stating "we caution you to be open at 6 pm when the rest of the mall opens."7 When owners of smaller stores in the mall found out about the policy, they quickly spoke out against it. The manager of a small T-shirt store located in the mall said it forced him to open the shop because "are a small company" and the fine would "substantial to us."8 Local citizens outraged by this policy also spoke out against it, with a massive boycott against the mall organized at 12:00am on Black Friday, with over 4,000 people purportedly attending,9 which encouraged shoppers to "steer clear" of the Walden Galleria. An Indiegogo campaign entitled Coffee and Cheer on Thanksgiving Day was also started to deliver coffee to the mall employees "forced to work at supper time" during Thanksgiving. Although Pyramid did continue to enforce this policy, it shifted some of the blame to anchor tenant Macy's, who was a major proponent of Thanksgiving sales nationwide, for pressuring the mall into adopting the policy Category:Mall Companies Category:Mall Owners